DEVIANCE AND CRIME PT.2

Question 1

what do people get when they break rules

Answer 1

sanctions

Question 2

2 types of sanctions

Answer 2

• formal - Are enacted by official agents of the state (law enforcement; Child Protective Services, etc.)
• informal- Come from nonofficial sources such as family; friends; strangers
  **Who is imposing the sanction determines whether it’s informal or formal

Question 3

3 perspectives when defining deviance

Answer 3

realist perspective
absolute perspective
conflict critical perspective

Question 4

what is the realist perspective

Answer 4

• understanding deviance within larger social collective
• Behaviors, conditions, and beliefs are deviant only to the extent that cultures regard them as deviant
• defines deviance as a result of social construction
• What is considered deviant is subjective (or relative)

Question 5

what is the absolute perspective

Answer 5

• suggests some behaviors, conditions, and beliefs are inherently and objectively deviant

Question 6

what is the conflict critical perspective

Answer 6

• regards deviance as socially constructed
  and emphasizes social power in determining who and what is considered deviant
• This perspective suggests that those in power will construct deviance in ways to preserve and increase the social, economic, and political dominance of the powerful

Question 7

what is ethnocentrism

Answer 7

The belief that one’s culture is superior to another culture

Question 8

important to remember when researching deviance

Answer 8

As social scientists we may have strong feelings (INDIVIDUAL MORALITY), however, we put those aside to study the perspective and experiences of those who are considered deviant

Question 9

what did Early theories of crime and deviance focus on

Answer 9

biological causes e.g. genes

Question 10

What context did Durkheim theorise that suicide is best examined in

Answer 10

• in the context of social solidarity in a particular society
• Durkheim examined a phenomenon that most people think of as an intensely individual act (suicide) and suggested it had social rather than psychological (individual) causes
• Characteristics of societies matters

Question 11

what did Durkheim theorize that modern industrial society was characterized by

Answer 11

egoism + anomie

Question 12

what is egoism and durkheims theory about it characterising industrial society

Answer 12

weekend social ties within the social group
- Durkheim theorized that in modern societies there was a lack of integration of the individual in the social group
- Individuals become isolated in their economic tasks and have no feelings of likeness with others

Question 13

what is anomie and durkheims theory about it characterising industrial society

Answer 13

weakened moral regulation - A state in which society’s norms fail to regulate behavior
- Durkheim theorizes that modern industrial societies can be characterized by a lack of moral regulation

Question 14

durkheims views on the normality of crime

Answer 14

• Durkheim theorizes that crime and deviance were normative and necessary aspects of societies
• The purpose of punishment or sanctions was not to reduce crime, but rather to assert shared values
• Norms and values shift, and deviance becomes reconceptualized

Question 15

what are moral panics

Answer 15

exaggerated, widespread fear regarding the collapse of public morality

Question 16

what is the medicalisation of deviance

Answer 16

The transition from viewing behaviors, conditions, and beliefs as attributed to the deviant’s character due to a condition that can be treated (For ex: Alcohol Abuse)

Question 17

what is labelling

Answer 17

How certain individuals or groups come to be regarded as deviant - who is defined or labeled as deviant is the result of a social process in which others react as though the person is deviant

Question 18

what is primary deviance

Answer 18

Rule breaking in the absence of a deviant label

Question 19

what is secondary deviance

Answer 19

Further rule-breaking behavior as a result of a deviant
label e.g. people label you as a car speeder so you engage in the behaviour more often

Question 20

what is stigma

Answer 20

A mark of disgrace and interactions that communicates that one is disgraced, dishonorable or otherwise deviant

Question 21

what is role engulfment

Answer 21

deviant role takes over people’s other social roles - others relate to them in response to their spoiled identity

Question 22

what is master status

Answer 22

The primary status by which others interact with

Question 23

what is the labelling perspective when creating deviance

Answer 23

Certain individuals (or groups) get regarded as deviant through labeling
- Has roots in symbolic interactionism
- Emphasizes the power of definitions
- Who is defined as deviant is the result of a social process in which others react as though the person is deviant
- Reaction of others rather than the behavior itself that produces the label of deviant
- No actual rule-violating behavior is necessary for the deviant label to be applied

Question 24

what is the Thomas theorem in regard to the labelling perspective when creating deviance

Answer 24

“If individuals define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”
- Labels have the power to transform people - If an individual is treated as deviant do, they then engage in deviant behavior?